Quick recap... Shonda Rhimes' newseries Scandal which is headlined by Kerry Washington, with Columbus Short and others in supporting roles.

The new show will debut on April 5 (a Thursday) at 10PM.

As already reported on this site, the series is based on the life of real-life Washington-based PR guru Judy Smith – former White House press aide under President George H. Bush, who also counseled Monica Lewinsky, Michael Vick, Senator Larry Craig, worked on the prosecution of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court hearings, the Chandra Levy investigation and the Enron Congressional inquiry.

Kerry Washington stars as Judy Smith (who’ll be known as Olivia Pope in the series), who’s described as “stylish but weary, too smart for her own good, something of a legend, formidable, driven, insightful, intuitive and fearless; heads up a team of crack legal experts.”

Columbus Short will play a lawyer on her team.

The official full synopsis reads:

From the creator and executive producers of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” comes a drama revolving around the life and work of a professional crisis manager and her dysfunctional staff. A former media relations consultant to the President, Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) dedicates her life to protecting and defending the public images of our nation’s elite. After leaving the White House, the power consultant opened her own firm, hoping to start a new chapter -- both professionally and personally -- but she can’t seem to completely cut ties with her past. Slowly it becomes apparent that her staff, who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, can’t quite fix the ones closest at hand -- their own.